WINNERS

• 1st - MySpace
Led by former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer, Christopher Heather, the MySpace legal team has become an essential part of company’s rapid expansion into the emerging markets of Europe.
The biggest task has been the launch of Myspace in countries such as Poland, Turkey and Russia. The legal team has managed to get real results with limited resources. There is no formal panel, and no plans for one either. Heather and his small team of lawyers coordinate everything, using a handful of specialized IP/IT firms in conjunction with Hogan & Hartson and Allen & Overy.
The legal function at Fox Interactive is more than just a tool to expand the business, but a way of differentiating its sites from competitors. The team has worked hard to make sure that the site’s privacy policy is in line with international regulations and stronger than that of its rivals.
A serious achievement.

• 2nd - 3
When Stephen Lerner took over the general counsel role last year, 3 was in the midst of a complex restructuring process that resulted in 130 job losses. 3’s legal team has risen to the challenges within the telecoms sector and this year celebrated a groundbreaking IP litigation victory in the European Court of Justice over its comparative advertising campaign. At the same time the in-house group has been breaking new ground with a network share deal signed with T-Mobile. The legal team has become central to 3’s commercial strategy to challenge the dominance of a small group of established telecoms companies.

• 3rd - Canon Europe
The legal group at Canon Europe has changed considerably over the course of the last 12 months, adapting its structure to suit new business opportunities in Europe and emerging markets. European general counsel David Bates has created the new role of emerging markets legal head and hired its first lawyer in Russia. Over the past year the team has carried out a full scale review of its legal advisers in Europe, including the first ever series of panel reviews in emerging markets such as the Middle East and Turkey. The changes haves shaved pounds off the company’s £10m legal budget.

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Judges will be looking for evidence of:

• How the team has made the legal function integral both to the decision making process of the company and also to the overall company strategy
• Transactional work or regulatory advice
• How the spend for the team is managed
• Supporting evidence may include how the legal strategy has underpinned the company’s brand

Submissions may focus on a single transaction or may chart the team’s progress over the course of the year.

Entries welcome from:
In-house teams	√
Nominations by private practice	√
Nominations by chambers / barristers	√

Previous Winners:
2007	AOL Europe
2006	T-Mobile UK
2005	Sony Electronics
2004	Channel 4
2003	3